Training is important in the nightlife industry, but so is personality, which cannot be taught. Training is important in the nightlife industry, but so is personality, which cannot be taught.

ATTRACTING THE CROWD

The last session of the day, moderated by Caterer Middle East editor Devina Divecha, focused on creating customer experiences.

The industry experts lending their wisdom to the crowd included: Fine Dining Ltd (Ruth Chris’ Steak House) general manager Ghazi Azzabi; Solutions Leisure operations manager Sacha Daniel; and Jumeirah Beach Hotel’s bar manager – 360 Motorga Heathcliff. The panel was asked how important is it to offer quality services, products and entertainment in order to attract and retain clientele?

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Azzabi got the party started by stating how Ruth’s Chris has increased sales at its bar by 40% by introducing a more casual offering and atmosphere. Daniel agreed and argued that Dubai is too top end and has to do more to introduce middle markets.

Heathcliff said: “There will always be something new and interesting, new concepts here reflect what is happening worldwide.” However, Azzabi said you need to be very careful not to dilute your brand or product while catering to customer demands. “The Chicago formula doesn’t work here. The hospitality business in general is about people, it’s about the people that make the event happen, it’s about the people that make the service happen, and it’s about the people that make the experience — that makes people come back.”

Experiences are not just what make outlets stand out — it’s concept and design. Heathcliff said brands need to identify themselves and really need to know what they want to do. “As Ghazi said, what works outside doesn’t work here. You need to adapt.” Azzabi added that everything a brand does needs to be customer-centric; if it wasn’t, it would not be successful in the market.

The panellists talked trends, with Daniel saying people loved having sushi on their nightlife menu, introduced at Karma Kafé. He said: “People expect to see something different. A lot of places now offer an interactive service with its food and drinks.”

Azzabi agreed and said interaction is one of the most important elements of the business. “It’s all about listening and being able to detect signals to be able to tell what the customer wants,” he added.

Moving onto drinks, Heathcliff described his venues cocktail menu as an ‘experience’, with using smoke and other showman-like tricks being very popular because “people like to see a little flame”. However, he also warned: “But if you want your bar tenders to create these drinks, then you have to pay them well.” He said lately this has been the trend with owners realising that if you want to keep someone, they have to be rewarded well.

Dress code and security was the next topic, with each panel member able to recount examples of when big spenders at their venues have come up against security for dress code violations.

“Once we had someone come in and spend AED 550,000 on dinner a few years ago,” said Azzabi about a night at Ruth’s Chris, “and he came back the next night wearing linen trousers and flip flops and the security guy didn’t let him in.” Azzabi said he had to intervene at this point. “So it just goes to show that door policy can be very critical, and as a manager you have to keep an eye on the door, and the inside as well, so anything doesn’t affect the rest of your clientele.”

Both Daniel and Heathcliff pointed out there is a distinction between the day and night crowd, and take decisions based on an individual basis as well.

Azzabi said the manager of every outlet needs to be vigilant and not completely leave entrance policies to those stationed at the door. He explained: “The last thing you want to do is make a wrong call. It’s all about trust. If a customer who is a regular, or even if he’s not, is expecting a certain experience, and is handled by a young member of the team who may not have the knowledge to do so, it reflects on us as to how we handle our customers. So it’s very important our managers are there to make the final decisions.”

With that, the Bar & Nightlife 2013 forum concluded, with feedback from delegates asserting it was a great venue to catch up with peers. Email devina.divecha@itp.com with your thoughts as to the hot topics for the 2014 edition.